A variety of systems providing for wireless communications in an office or work environment are known. Such known systems include directed infrared systems, diffuse or reflected infrared systems, and radio frequency wireless systems, each of which may provide for high-speed data communications between electronic devices. For example, the system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,926 employs diffuse or reflected infrared signals to transmit data between electronic devices. The system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,600 shows the use of directed infrared signals to establish communications between electronic devices and intermediate transceivers (for example, ceiling- or wall-mounted repeaters).
Data communications in a system employing directed infrared signals is made over a direct (line-of-sight) optical interface link through free space between an optical port (infrared transceiver, e.g. an infrared transmitter and receiver) associated with one electronic device and an optical port (infrared transceiver) associated with another electronic device. Directed infrared systems, which transmit an optical signal directly between points, provide security and performance advantages over diffuse or reflected infrared systems or radio frequency systems, which essentially "broadcast" a signal that may be received at one or more other points (whether or not reception is intended). Directed infrared signals also are typically free from noise or electromagnetic interference concerns, which tend to arise in certain wireless communications systems. Moreover, as of the present, while industry standards have been promulgated for directed infrared systems, no industry standards exist for diffuse infrared or radio frequency systems.
The Infrared Data Association (IrDA) has promulgated industry standards for directed infrared data communications between electronic devices, including the Infrared Data Association Serial Infrared Physical Layer Link Specification (version 1.1) and the Infrared Data Association Serial Infrared Link Access Protocol (version 1.0). These IrDA standards, which are incorporated by reference herein, provide not only a protocol for data communications between electronic devices, but also physical parameters, such as optical interface specifications and optical link parameters. IrDA compliance is therefore essentially independent of the particular implementation of infrared technology and the particular manufacturer of the electronic device. According to these standards, electronic devices incorporating IrDA-compliant infrared technology (e.g. optical interface ports with associated transceivers, encoder/decoders, drivers, etc.), compatible for data communications with other IrDA-compliant electronic devices, are now commercially available.
Manufacturers have incorporated IrDA-compliant infrared technology into a wide variety of electronic devices, for example, mobile computing devices and portable computers (such as laptop or notebook computers), personal digital assistants (PDAs) or other data devices (such as organizers), network adapters, printers or other peripherals, cellular telephones, pagers and the like. For example, commonly available portable computers (such as the Hewlett-Packard OmniBook 5500CT) and PDAs (such as the Apple Newton Message Pad 2000) may provide optical interface ports according to IrDA standards. Data communications between such electronic devices can readily be established when the corresponding optical ports are positioned and aligned within specified physical parameters (i.e. angle and distance). Communication software, such as Microsoft Infrared Communication Software for Windows.RTM. 95, is commercially available for IrDA-compliant computing devices that include an optical port. According to the IrDA standards, communications between IrDA-compliant electronic devices can be established at substantial data rates (e.g. 4 M bytes/second).
Computer networks, such as a local area network (LAN), are now common to the office environment, allowing office workers to access or share network resources from electronic or computing devices with other persons within the network or beyond. Such networks typically include one or more network servers, computers which provide for access to network resources, such as databases or shared files, application programs, electronic mail, network printers and other shared peripherals, or other networks (such as intranets or the Internet). Typically, an electronic device makes a physical connection at a network access point, the physical connection being made with a wire or cable. (Networking of electronic devices in this manner is well-known in the office or work environment.)
However, IrDA standards have fostered the development of directed infrared systems by which electronic or computing devices may be networked (i.e. connected to the LAN or the like) in an office or work environment. Known systems, such as those commercially available from the Hewlett-Packard Company under the name "NetBeamIR", provide for an IrDA-compliant network access point in the form of an optical port (contained in a movable housing with an associated infrared transceiver) that is also physically connected to the network. The optical port may be aligned with an optical port of an IrDA-compliant computing device to allow infrared data communications between the computing device and the network according to IrDA standards. Similarly, the "JETEYE" product offered by Extended Systems, Inc. includes a movable optical port in a device (a housing resembling a computer mouse) that can be aligned with a corresponding optical port on the computing device to establish an optical link according to the IrDA standards. (Other companies, such as ACTiSYS, Tekram and Parallax Research, also provide IrDA-compliant network connectivity products.)
According to these arrangements, the optical link is made along the top of a worksurface and therefore is susceptible to interruption by obstructions that may be present between the corresponding optical ports on the worksurface. This is in part due to present configurations of the worksurface and the design of the workstations and associated articles of furniture (e.g. desks or tables) at which the electronic devices are used. For example, the optical link is quite easily broken (and optical data communications interrupted) when obstructions such as books, papers, pens, cans or other objects, are inadvertently placed on the worksurface between the corresponding optical ports. This susceptibility of the optical link to interruption by such objects (which are common to the workstation) has to some extent limited the usefulness and widespread acceptance of directed infrared data communications in an office environment.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a workstation that is adapted to facilitate optical data communications through a direct optical link between electronic devices in an office or work environment. It would also be advantageous to provide for the physical integration into the workstation of an access station providing one or more optical ports so that data communication between a computer network and an electronic device having an optical port can be established using directed optical signals. It would further be advantageous to have a workstation including one or more article of furniture (such as a desk, table, panel, wall, bin, utility post, chair, accessory or the like) that contains an optical port selectively adjustable in position to form a relatively stable and secure optical link with an optical port associated with an electronic device. It would further be advantageous to provide a network connection in such a workstation both for a single user or a plurality of users (each having a computing device of some type) through directed infrared signals.